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The Rhododendron Society Notes

The Rhododendron Society was the forerunner of the Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia Group. Formed in 1915 by Charles Eley, J G Millais and PD Williams, one of the conditions of membership was the requirement to contribute occasional notes about the burgeoning number of new species of rhododendrons and the developing skills required to grow them successfully. These offerings were collated and published in fifteen parts – three volumes of five parts each – between 1917 and 1931.

Only published for the Society’s limited membership, original copies are scarce and expensive but they contain much of interest for current growers and students of rhododendron history alike. Fortunately, this continuing value was recognised in 1976 by the Pacific Rhododendron Society, based in Tacoma, Washington, USA, which produced a facsimile copy of each part.

The Group has been given permission to scan and publish the facsimile edition online by Fred Whitney – the last remaining officer of the Pacific Rhododendron Society. Without this it is unlikely that the project would have come to fruition as the inevitable damage to original bound copies in the scanning process would have been unthinkable.

These Notes will be published online on an occasional basis as the work to scan them is completed. Your patience whilst this process is taking place is requested.
Until now these works have only been accessible to the lucky few; the various permissions that the Group has received make this online publication freely available to all.

You may download the Notes by clicking on the approprate PDF icon below.

Volume I No. I - 1916

Volume I No. II - 1917

Volume I No. III - 1917

Volume I No. IV - 1918

Volume I No. V - 1919

INDEX to Volume I - 1916-1919

Volume II No. I - 1920

The Rhododendron Story

200 Years of Plant Hunting and Garden Cultivation Edited by Cynthia Postan

Published in 1996 to celebrate half a century of the Rhododendron Yearbook, this publication gives a marvellous insight into the world of rhododendrons and the people who helped create it. 224pp.

It is now out of print but we are fortunate to have been given permission to make it freely available to our members in PDF form.

You may download the book here WARNING it is 54MB in size so will take some time to download.
Alternatively you may choose to download the individual chapters which are around 4MB each.

Chapter 1: Habitat and Ecology: Changes over 200 yearsBOB MITCHELL

Chapter 2: The Taxonomy of the Genus: a HistoryWILLIAM and MELVA PHILIPSON